Education minister wants to lure experts back

The new grant programme should give them one-off subsidies, but does not concern increasing their salaries, the Sme daily reported.

The subsidy should amount to €10,000 for young experts and €50,000 for experts who have worked abroad for more than 10 years. They would, however, not get the money in one sum.

“After signing an employment agreement the applicant will receive a grant at 50 percent of the amount,” Education Ministry spokesperson Beáta Dupaľová Ksenzsighová told Sme, adding that the experts will receive the rest after one year.

The experts should work mostly for the state administration, at public universities and in the Slovak Academy of Sciences (SAV), according to the proposal. In order to get a grant, they need to work there for at least three years.

Another condition is that only those having second and third university level educations granted by an institution with good placement in international rankings will be able to apply for the grant.

The proposal, however, says nothing about increasing the monthly wage in public administration. A university teacher, for example, currently earns more than €1,000 gross a month if working for more than 18 years, Sme wrote.

The first grants may be distributed this year, with the country allocating €1 million for them every year, the Denník N daily wrote.

The national programmes supporting graduates run also in Great Britain. Its participants, however, receive some €2,640 a month. An employee with experience may, however, get up to €4,360 a month. In the US temployees can earn between $2,500-$15,000 (some €2,230-€13,375), depending on the position.